Friday, March 14, 2008

Just Because It's Vegan: Raw Vegan Brownies

I admit, even I'm guilty. Guilty of that mindset that just because something is vegan, it can't taste that good. Even though I've been a vegetarian for years, I still have the tendency to shy away from those things labeled "Vegan." And you know what - I have absolutely no reason to.

My friend, LJ, who just recently went vegan, made these brownies last week. After both her kids and her meat-eating husband loved them, she passed the recipe on to me. I have to admit, I was slightly skeptical, but I figured I'd give them a try. And I'm glad I did. Not only are they super easy to make, but they taste really really good. There's plenty of versions on the internet for these things, but I switched it up a bit adding some dried cherries. I'm sure you could substitute any other dried fruit as well and have some great tasty variations.

This is also the first entry in a new feature that will be popping up from time to time here on 28 Cooks, entitled "Just Because It's Vegan." These will be recipes that will be strictly vegan, but will satisfy almost everyone.

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I doubled this recipe and used cranberries rather than cherries and tossed in some cinnamon. It worked out great, and my mother in law, who is dairy free, got to have brownies.

This makes a nice base from which to improvise. Next time I may do pistachos instead of walnuts, raisins instead of cherries and possibly almond flour rather than carob powder. Throw in some cardamon and you would have something very intriguing, I think.

aka anonymous.... My son loved them!! As did my other son, my finiky dad, my health conscious mom, my beer drinking neighbor and me! I made a little change: I made a double recipe using a cup of dates and a cup of dried cherries and dried cranberries. I also used honey and added a tsp of vanilla and a touch of cinnamon. I also made a second batch with Pecans instead of walnuts. My dad inhaled these. We took them camping and they were great for hiking! Thanks so much!!

I just tried these, totally expecting them to taste way too typically "healthy flavored" for me, but they were SO GOOD. Plus, I don't even feel bad about eating them! My only problem is they made my food processor a bit unhappy while combining everything. Ah well. Maybe it was just jealous.